NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81: The Moonlit Spring - II
Twilight was giving way to a full moon night, the spring nestled among trees and dense shrubs seemed like liquid silver with a delicate mist swirling above the shimmering water. The air was cool, the luminescence of the water filled the air as well and it felt magical and otherworldly. Hanging vines swayed gently above the waters and glowing lotuses bloomed across the spring.
"Answer me first," the cosmic form pressed Svetavastra.
Svetavastra sighed.
“This is going to take a while,” he muttered. He knew that the cosmic form would be stubborn so he thought of getting the divine sword later. He decided to focus on the cleansing in the spring water.
“Tell me,” said Svetavastra. “When you first held the divine sword, did you see any visions or recollect any memories?”
The cosmic form paused to think, she scratched her chin with her hand.
“I did remember seeing some flashes,” she said. “The divine sword has seen some epic bloodshed - there were flashes of you fighting hordes of demons single-handed, not just once or twice but multiple times. There were some other visions as well but they were too incoherent and I couldn’t make anything out of them - there was a silhouette of some entity, maybe a god, some endless abyss, a falcon. Random things.”
“I see,” said Svetavastra.
Just then, the moon had risen into the night sky and the rays of the full moon fell on Svetavastra. A light enveloped him and he transformed back to his original female self.
Svetavastra, now a beautiful maiden identical to the cosmic form looked at her delicate hands. The only difference between the two was their attires - Svetavastra was in white robes while the cosmic form was in a white saree. Both looked equally beautiful.
“The full moon,” said Svetavastra looking at the moon. “Maybe this is a blessing.”
“Wish Manu was here,” grinned the cosmic form.
Svetavastra shook her head.
“Should I get undressed?” Cosmic Svetavastra teased.
“Be serious,” she said. “There seems to be some celestial alignment taking place with the moon in its fullest form.”
“What does that mean?” said the cosmic form.
“The waters in the spring become more mystical,” said Svetavastra. “They may show visions of the past or the future. Apart from cleansing the chakras.”
“Ohh! Interesting,” said the cosmic form.
“We have to be careful, though,” said Svetavastra. “Normally, when we cultivate on land, we focus on breathwork, we focus on the incoming breathing and outgoing breath. But here, we have to be submerged in water for the purification to take place.”
“I see what you mean,” said the cosmic form.
“Yes,” said Svetavastra. “So, cultivation in water is different. First, we need to slow our breath so that it becomes imperceptible, and then we submerge ourselves in the water, as we float inside the water, we should focus on the gentle waves of the water in the spring. As the wave passes through us, the sacral chakra will slowly become balanced.”
“Ahh,” said the cosmic form.
“But,” said Svetavastra. “Make sure not to do any sudden movements, the water here is mystical and suppresses any survival instincts. If you make any sudden movements, you will slowly drawn into this bottomless lake.”
“Scary,” said the cosmic form. “Scary for you. I’m a god.”
Svetavastra didn’t react.
“Let’s first get the breathing down to almost nil,” said Svetavastra as she sat down under a tree. Cosmic Svetavastra followed suit and within a few minutes, both were able to radically slow down their breathing.
“Will I be also cleansed, No-god God?” asked the preta in the bracer finally finding the space to speak up.
“I’m not sure,” said Svetavastra. “You don’t have a physical form to feel the rhythm of the spring water. Why don’t you try and find out? There’s no harm in it, is there?”
“You’re right, No-god God, I’ll also meditate along with you,” it said eagerly.
Svetavastra opened her eyes and cosmic Svetavastra was already waiting for her at the edge of the spring. They slowly walked into the lake without making any sudden movements. Once they were completely inside the water, they both floated in the water in a cross-legged position. They nodded at each other and closed their eyes to feel the rhythm of the spring water.
Slowly, Svetavastra began to feel the subtle current in the water. As the wave of water passed by her, she could feel the energy of the mystical water flow into her and wash her sacral chakra. It calmed her and put her into a meditative trance. At first, there was a blankness and void but as the waves kept washing through her, she started seeing flashes of her memories. They flashed past her mind way too quickly to register anything. She deliberately calmed herself further to focus on just one memory to make it clearer.
It was a battlefield and she was facing a horde of rakshasas. These demons were led by the demon lord, Raktabija. He was floating in the air while his demon army was swarming the barren battlefield. She was alone in facing this relentless onslaught.
“God of War,” said Raktabija. “Look at me and my mighty army. We have come forth from the depths of the underworld. We have taken over vast swathes of this Bhu-loka. The gods tremble at the power I possess. They are too scared to face me. They are afraid of humiliation they will meet at my hands.”
He gave a maniacal laugh imaging the gods at his mercy.
“You are being manipulated by them, God of War,” said Raktabija. “Don't you see it? Why don’t you join me and we shall rule this world and all the worlds there are!”